Rising Food Prices: It's Time to Stop Burning Food as Fuel

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Recent headlines about rising food prices are just the latest in a succession of reports illustrating how our daily staples are becoming increasingly expensive. The effects of this are hitting people hard - not just poor people in the UK but in parts of the world where almost one billion people cannot afford enough nutritious food to stave off hunger.

At a time like this it seems even more nonsensical that we are burning food to make fuel for cars, and that a European Union target is urging our Government to burn even more in future.

Earlier this year I wrote from Tanzania about the way that this EU target to use food for fuel - biofuels - is driving up the prices of food for the world's poorest people. Now, with food prices rocketing globally, we can see even more clearly why this policy is so damaging and must be reversed.

Unsurprisingly, demand for food to eat is not falling. At the same time, demand for food to burn as fuel is increasing. Add to this a terrible harvest and depleting food stocks and it's easy to see why prices are rising.

The biofuel in British petrol tanks could feed 10million people; across the EU biofuels could feed 185million people. This 'perfect storm' of declining supplies from climate change and rising demand from biofuels has dire consequences. For some households in developing countries, as much as 80% of their income is spent on food and even small price increases can leave long term effects by squeezing spending on health and education, as well as nutrition.

For the sake of hungry people everywhere, let's hope that our politicians step up to the plate and act this week to stop burning food as fuel.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/melanie-ward/biomass-world-food-day-rising-food-prices-its-ti_b_1961758.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

[Obama 2012 1,714]

It amazes me the people who are like "Oh, those items are only up $0.30-0.75, it's not a big deal." -- Then they don't multiply that $0.30-$0.75 x 30 items x 52 weeks in a year.... Adds up for those on a budget.